High school sucks
by ToriNeverShouts
Summary: John Egbert is new to town, and is starting his first year of high school. He makes a few new friends, but what happens when a mysterious Dave Strider comes along?
1. Chapter 1

Today was John's first day of high school. He was absolutely terrified. Just moving to a new state, he didn't know anybody. What if no one liked him? What if he got bullied? All these questions ran through his head as he walked out his door.

School was just a few blocks away, so he walked. Typical for August, there was water on the side of the roads from last night's rain. A red pickup truck drove by, and splashed water all over John.

"That's what you get, freshman chump!" a beefy looking guy exclaimed out the window.

_Oh great, another outfit ruined_, John thought, looking at his ruined clothes. He said, and pulled his backpack closer to his body. Only four years to go. Walking into homeroom, the bell rang out, and John took his seat next to a shy looking girl, with black hair and slightly large glasses.

John smiled, and held out his hand, "Hey, I'm John Egbert."

The girl looked up from her book, and smiled slightly. "Jade Harley," she said shaking his hand. Her eyebrows scrunched up. "I've never seen you around town before, are you new?" John nodded, and the girl laughed, "Good luck."

Once the homeroom bell rang out, John went to his first class, English. He quickly avoided all the other students, and sat in the back of the class alone. When he looked at the door, he saw a girl with short blonde hair, wearing a black dress. That's not what caught his attention though. Her purple eyes did.

She walked over to the desk next to him, and nodded towards it with her eyebrows raised. John nodded, and she took her seat. "I'm Rose Lalonde," she said with a smile. He looked her over; she wore mostly black, including black lipstick. She was pretty though, but John didn't really care.

He shrugged, "John Egbert." She smiled, and the teacher walked in, starting the day's lesson. The day went by quickly. Nothing else really happened. Until he was leaving, that is.

The whole time during science class, he couldn't look away from a certain guy. Blonde hair, face sprayed with freckles, wearing a red letterman jacket, black jeans, and sunglasses. None of the teachers said anything about the sunglasses, which was strange. John knew he wasn't blind, because when he caught John staring, he smiled. John also noticed a few jocks in the class, and they were all grinning at him like fresh meat. He knew he was in trouble.

Walking in the hall, one of the jocks pushed him, and he fell against the ground, his papers flying everywhere. Kids walked by, kicked him, and laughed. He just lay sprawled out on the floor, not getting up. What was the point?

When he heard a voice, he jumped. "Wow, are you just going to sit there on the ground all day?" He remembered the voice from class. Looking up, his suspicions were confirmed. It was the guy from class, the one with the sunglasses. He was smirking, holding a hand out to John to help him up. John looked out him; he heard all the girls whispering about this guy. He was a popular person. Was this just another trick to humiliate him?

Reluctantly, he took the other boy's hand. John started picking up his papers, and the other guy helped him. When they finished, he handed the papers to John. "Thanks," he said. "I'm John."

The boy smiled, "I'm Dave Strider, nice to meat you."


	2. Chapter 2

John paused; he had heard that name before, along with a few other choice words. _Fake, liar, cheat_. Dave waved his hand in front of John's face. "Anybody home?"

John shook his head, "Sorry. I just… zoned out." He finished putting his papers back in his backpack. He walked to the exit, and Dave caught his shoulder.

"You seem pretty cool," Dave said. "We should hang out sometime." John agreed, and Dave smirked, walking out the building.

It started raining on the walk back from school, and John was completely soaked when he got home. His dad was sitting at the table, reading the paper, as usual. That man always has a newspaper. "How was school?" John shrugged off the question and walked up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door behind him, and fell onto his bed. _What a great day, I'm already disliked, and it's just the first day._

He tried to think about other things, but his mind always went back to Dave. Who was this guy? He probably wasn't on the football team; they all had a problem with John. He sighed, and rolled over to look at his ceiling. _I really want to know more about this kid, _he thought to himself. _I want to learn everything I can about him._

And with that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next day went by in a blur, new classes with none of his friends. John sat in the back of all his classes, not able to focus, all thoughts on Dave. He hadn't seen the other boy all day, until last period. He was smiling and laughing with a bunch of girls.

John quietly walked to the back of the class and sat in the corner, hoping not to be noticed. He caught Dave's eye, who took all his things and moved to the back of the class to sit with John. He had a pair of headphones around his neck, one in his left ear, the other hanging loose. His music was loud, and John could catch almost every word. Some kind of rock or alternative music, the music sounded familiar though.

Also, sitting on his face, were the same pair of sunglasses he wore yesterday. John guessed his eyes were probably blue, or maybe even green. It was hard to tell through the lens.

Dave fell into his seat, "This weekend, we should hang out." He twirled a pencil between his fingers, waiting for John's answer.

John shrugged, "Yeah, okay. I'll ask my dad if you can come over to my house or something."

`Dave smiled, and took out a piece of paper. He wrote a seven digit number on it, and handed it to John. "Call me, and tell me if I should keep my calendar available."

Class went by fast, and the next thing he knew, John was walking home, starting at the slip of paper. It made him feel_ different_. If a girl ever game him their number, he never felt like this. Then again, he didn't find most girls attractive.

He walked inside, and leaned against the door. What was going on?


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So I'm going to switch the point of view every chapter. Also, in this one, Dave has a dad. Also, sorry for the short chapters. I hope farther along I can fit more into a chapter.**

Dave tried to take as long as possible to get home. He stopped at a park for a while before the sun started setting. Even then, he walked as slow as he could.

Opening the door, he immediately smelled cigarette smoke. _Great,_ he thought to himself. _Dad's home, this is going to be fun._

His brother, Dirk, was probably up in his room. Their father was okay with Dirk. It was Dave who was unwanted. Ever since his mom left, Dave had been stuck with his lousy, alcoholic father. He had hit Dave before, and does it often. He was just a worthless nothing to his father.

He had wished he had taken longer to get home when he heard his father call his name. "Dave," he sang. "C'mere Dave." Dave's shoulders sagged, and he walked over to his father, who was wasted.

"Y-yes father?" Dave stuttered, and cursed himself for it. He saw his father's face contort into one of disgust.

"You're no son of mine." And that's when Dave felt the first hit on his face, busting his lip. He touched the corner of his mouth, and his hand came away bloody. Another fist was heading towards him, and he tried to block it. It still felt like the bones in his arm had all shattered. His father was strong, always getting into fights at bars, working out when he wasn't drunk. He left a lot, leaving Dave and his brother home alone for weeks at a time. Dave was fine with it; Dirk had a job and paid for food for them to eat.

His father tripped him, and Dave was laying face down on the ground. He turned to his side, and got kicked in the stomach, right below his ribs. Dave coughed, and grabbed his father's leg. _I'm not putting up with this anymore, _he thought to himself. He pulled his father down, who was caught off guard. Dave hovered over his father's face, a fist raised.

He punched him, right in the nose. "Get out of my house," his father hissed. "Before I throw you out myself."

_Fine by me,_ he thought running up the stairs to grab all his things. He packed a duffle bag full of his clothes, which he didn't have many of. Dirk had to buy all his clothes and school supplies for him.

Walking out the house, he pulled out his phone, and looked on his recent call list. The latest one was a contact named _John Egbert. _

He called, and it rung three times before John answered. Dave forced a laugh, "Hey John, can I ask you for a favor?"

John replied after a few seconds, "It depends..."

"Well, I just got kicked out of my house, and I have nowhere else to stay. I was hoping you could spare a room for a few nights."

"Let me go ask my dad," he said, and set the phone down with a hard bang. Five minutes later, he was telling Dave directions to his house.

Opening the door, John gasped. "Dave, what happened?"

Dave forced a smile, "Life really sucks."


	4. Chapter 4

John dragged Dave into the kitchen, pulling him along by the wrist. Dave looked around the house, it was nice, nicer than what he was used to. Family photos of John and his father hung on the walls. John's father was asleep, so they had to be quite.

John forced Dave into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, and went to go get a first aid kit.

Dave looked down at his hands; one was bruised at the knuckles, a bit of dried blood on them. He wondered if Dirk noticed his brother had left. John waked back into the room, carrying a wet rag. He pulled up a chair in front of Dave, and examined his face.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, cleaning the blood from Dave's face. He winced, and John tried to be more careful.

"My dad," Dave sighed. Breathing hurt, his ribs were probably bruised. He remembered his father's face after Dave had hit him, and felt some satisfaction. He was glad he finally stood up against his father, rather than taking his beatings. John just shook his head and sighed.

"Has he done this before?" Dave nodded, and John sighed again. "Well it's good you got out of there." He stood up and threw the rag away. He turned back to Dave, "Do you need anything?"

Dave smiled, "Some apple juice would be _great._" John laughed, and tossed Dave a juice box. "Are you sure it's okay I stay?" Dave asked, opening the straw.

John smiled, "Yeah, but you have to sleep on the couch." Dave nodded, and went to lay down. "Goodnight," John said, walking up the stairs to his room.

"Goodnight," Dave whispered to himself, closing his eyes.

The next day, Dave saw Dirk before class. Dirk looked nervous, fiddling with the straps on his backpack, or messing with his hair. "Where did you go?"

Dave shrugged, "Dad kicked me out, and I'm staying with a friend." He walked up the stairs to second story of classrooms, looking for his first class of the day, History. Dirk sighed, and walked away. Dave walked into class, and went to his desk. He ran his hands through his hair.

His father wasn't the only thing bothering him, John was too. This kid was way too nice, and it was driving Dave crazy. Everyone always threw him away, spread rumors, and made fun of him. He tried to make it look like he didn't care, that it didn't hurt, but it did. He couldn't shrug off the comments anymore. He just hoped John wasn't going to do the same thing.

He started remembering all the things people had done to him. His coach yelling at him after a game, and hitting him in the jaw. His father, and all the times he had been hit by him. He heard the teacher calling his name, but he didn't care. He stood up, and left the class, running outside.

He put on his headphones, trying to drown out everything else. He didn't know where he was going, but he just wanted to get away from everyone.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry there hasn't been a update in a while. School's about to end and I've had a lot of work and tests to do. Also, sorry for this short chapter, but enjoy.**

John didn't see Dave anywhere at school, and he wasn't in last period. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He wondered how long Dave's dad had been abusing him, and how severe it actually was. John couldn't even imagine his father hitting him. Then again, his father wasn't a drunk. Class ended after an hour, and John ran out of the classroom.

He looked everywhere, the park, the library, even an art museum. After wondering around the neighborhood for hours, he gave up and headed home.

Walking through the front door, he saw his father sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. Shrugging off his father's questions, he headed up to his room.

Opening the door, he saw Dave; sprawled out on his bed, headphones in. He coughed, and Dave sat up with a start.

He sighed, "Damn it Egbert, don't scare me." He took his headphones out and put them in his pocket.

"Where were you today?" John asked, crossing his arms.

"And the interrogation begins," Dave laughed, falling back onto the bed. "I don't know, I just panicked, and I had to leave." He looked over at John, and sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?"

John sat beside Dave, "Why are you sorry?" He ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, look. If you ever need to, come talk to me."

Dave smiled, "Yeah, I just might."

John woke up to a strange noise, like metal hitting something. Standing up, he put on his glasses. Walking down the hall, he heard a sink run from the bathroom. Opening the door, he almost fainted.

Dave was standing in front of the sink, holding a knife to his arm. He faked a smile, "Hey Egbert. What's up?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, again. School just let out, but I'm going on a trip on the 8th. I'll only be gone a week, though, and I'll try to update at least once more before I go.. But when I get back, I'll update more often. So yeah, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Sleep was hell for Dave. There were almost always nightmares. Most nights he just lay and stare at the ceiling. Tonight was no exception.

He swung his legs off the bed and sat on the edge. Sighing, he felt a pang of disappointment. He was disappointed at himself. Walking out the bedroom door was the last thing he remembered before John burst in the door.

John standing there, mouth wide open. He looked ready to take off. Dave put down the knife, and sighed. "John, wait." John raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

Dave swallowed, "I don't know what happened, I swear. I blacked out, and the next thing I know, I'm standing here with a knife to my arm." Dave felt more disappointed than ever.

They were both silent for a few minutes. John sighed, "Did you..?" he asks, making a cutting motion over his wrist. Dave shook his head. "Oh, thank God," John said, walking over to hug Dave.

He was caught off guard by John's hug, but returned it. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened," Dave started rambling.

John shook his head, stepping back, "Its find Dave. Just come see me before you ever…" He trailed off, but Dave knew what he meant. John put a hand on Dave's shoulder. "Go and try to get some sleep, okay?" Dave nodded, and walked back to his room. For once, he actually had a restful night.

It was Friday, and Dave couldn't be happier. He and John were just going to hang around the house, maybe go see a movie. John's father would be out of town, and they could have the house to themselves.

Sitting in class, Dave couldn't stop thinking about John. Matter of fact, he never stopped thinking about John. He couldn't help but think that he had a crush on him. Before he could think about it anymore, the bell rang, signaling the end of third period. Next period was the last, and John would be in there.

Dave walked into class, and his teacher stopped him. _Oh great_, Dave thought. _My grades are probably shit_.

"Dave," the science teacher, Mr. Captor, was sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop. "You're missing a few assignments, and it's making your grade low. I need them by next week, or they're going in as zeros." He barely looked up from his computer while talking, which made Dave think that he really didn't care.

The late bell rang and class started. John wasn't in class, which was weird. He was always early if anything, never late.

Twenty minutes passed by, and Dave worried. What if something happened? What if he got jumped? A million thoughts ran through his head. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

John was standing there, gasping for breath. He probably ran. "Sorry Mr. Captor, I left my science book at home and I had to go get it and I kind of got lost along the wa-" He was cut off by Mr. Captor pushing him in the direction of his seat.

After class, they both walked home silently. Dave felt uncomfortable. "So, you were late for once. Congratulations." He smiled.

John rolled his eyes, "You'd know all about being late, wouldn't you?" Dave laughed, and after a few seconds, John did too. "Yeah, I guess I was just kind of stressed. I forgot my science book, which totally isn't like me."

Opening the door, Dave immediately ran over to the couch, flopping down onto it. John disappeared into his room for a few minutes. Dave sighed, and lied back on the couch, relaxing. Once again, he thought of John.

It was official. He was crushing, hard. And he had to do something about it.

"So do you want to order a pizza or anything?" John asked walking back into the living room. He sat near Dave on the couch.

Dave shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"Yeah, okay." John said picking up a phone. "What do you want, cheese, pepperon-" He was cut off by Dave leaning in.

Dave thought, _What the hell am I doing?_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ahh sorry for the late update. I've been busy getting back from my trip. This is pretty short, sorry. It's like 12am and I just needed to get an update up. So yeah, enjoy. uvu**

John was confused, to say the least. Dave was leaning in, and he didn't know what to do. Sure, he liked Dave, but did he really want to get involved with him? Or maybe this is just all some big trick?

John put a hand in front of Dave's face, stopping him. Dave groaned, "What the _hell_, Egbert?" He sighed and leaned back onto the arm of the couch. "Alright, okay. I get it. You don't like me." His face was red, and John felt a pit of guilt in his stomach.

"No, Dave. It's not tha-"He was cut off by Dave standing up.

"I think I'll go for a walk. I'll be back later." Dave walked across the room, and slammed the door shut.

John leaned back and groaned. _What have you done now?_ He thought to himself. He closed his eyes, and tried to forget about the whole thing.

A series of vibrations woke him up. It was his phone, he was getting multiple texts. He clicked the phone on and saw they were from Jade.

"John Dave's at my house and he's either really upset or really pissed off

Okay I think it's pissed off im gonna try to calm him down

He asked for apple juice now he's just sitting at my table

I think you need to get over here now

Are you asleep what the hell?"

John stood up, stretching. Rubbing his eyes, he walked out his house and started towards Jade's house. It wasn't far, maybe five or six blocks.

Winter was really starting to set in; the air was cold and chilled John down to his bones. _I wish I had brought a fucking coat, _he thought. Walking wasn't much fun in the winter. At least to John it wasn't; he didn't like the way all the trees around him seemed to just die. Well, they might as well have been. The way leaves always crunched under his feet.

He didn't remember walking up to door, but the next thing he knew he was knocking.

Jade swung the door open, and she was obviously worked up. "John, I don't- I don't know what happened- he just passed out on the floor- and I think he got sick. I called the police and they're coming but John I'm so worried," she was rambling off, like she always did when she was nervous.

John pushed past her, and ran into her kitchen, and he saw Dave; lying on the floor, sweat covering his forehead. John felt his neck for a pulse, and it was very faint and slow.

He pushed Dave's hair back from his forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered. It was probably not his fault, but it might as well have been.


	8. Author's note

I'm sorry to say this, but I have to end this story here. I've lost all interest in it, and honestly it was just a way for me to vent at the time. I'm sorry that I'm not writing it anymore, but I've got a pretty good idea for a new fic, so I'm going to get started on that. Thanks for reading this, and sorry about ending it so short.


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